The implementation of AmeriCorps programs in Missouri will get a boost from the Missouri Community Service Commission. The MCSC will sub-grant more than $2.6 million to 15 qualifying organizations in the state’s communities and neighborhoods. These grants will support more than 400 AmeriCorps members across Missouri and are made possible by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS).

Many AmeriCorps members will address the state’s most pressing needs next year including disaster services, economic opportunity and education, to name but a few. The complete list of programs receiving the grants is posted below.

Press release from the Missouri Department of Economic Development

JEFFERSON CITY – The Missouri Department of Economic Development (DED) today announced that the Missouri Community Service Commission (MCSC) will sub-grant $2,611,893 to 15 qualifying organizations in Missouri to implement AmeriCorps programs in their communities and neighborhoods. These grants will support more than 400 AmeriCorps Members across the state of Missouri and are made possible by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) located in Washington, DC.

AmeriCorps Members, across the state, will address some of the state’s most pressing needs over the next year in areas of disaster services, economic opportunity, education, environmental stewardship, healthy futures and veterans and military families. These AmeriCorps Members will also recruit volunteers that will inevitably sustain and encourage citizen service throughout the great state of Missouri.

AmeriCorps has played a key role in emergency response to the recent Waynesville flooding disaster. Members filled sandbags to reduce flood damage to homes and businesses and are staffing 24-hour emergency centers, providing food and shelter for displaced victims. Members have also begun to coordinate cleanup and recovery efforts after the floodwaters recede, including a charity drive to collect school supplies for local children.

“Citizen service is an essential part of the solution to many of the social challenges facing our communities,” said Mike Downing, Acting Director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development. “These AmeriCorps Members, as part of the Missouri Community Service Commission, will meet pressing local needs and strengthen our communities as they develop civic and leadership skills that will last a lifetime.”

Most AmeriCorps Missouri grant funds are received from CNCS and distributed to nonprofit groups, educational institutions and local and state government through the Missouri Community Service Commission to respond to local needs. Other funding is distributed by CNCS directly to multi-state and national organizations through a competitive grants process.

Members may serve through AmeriCorps VISTA, whose work helps bring individuals and communities out of poverty by serving full-time to fight illiteracy, improve health services, create businesses and increase housing opportunities. Members could also serve in AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps, a 10-month, full time residential program for men and women between the ages of 18 and 24. In exchange for their service, AmeriCorps Members earn an education award that can be used to pay for college tuitions or to pay back qualifying student loans.

Since 1994, more than 11,000 Missouri residents have served more than 16 million hours and have qualified for Segal AmeriCorps Education Awards totaling more than $33,190,000.[1] To learn more about the benefits of becoming an AmeriCorps Member, visit www.nationalservice.gov.

The Missouri Community Service Commission (MCSC) is located within the Missouri Department of Economic Development. Its mission is to connect Missourians of all ages and backgrounds in an effort to improve unmet community needs through direct and tangible service. The MCSC serves as the administrator for AmeriCorps State funding in Missouri by awarding monetary grants and providing technical assistance and support to its sub-grantees.